EU Agriculture Committee discusses past, present and future

Rolling back or canceling the Green Deal is of no use as it is not a legally binding law but just a series of political plans. That said Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski in response to calls from European ministers and politicians to rethink European agricultural policy, the farm-to-fork food strategy and the biodiversity strategy.

In conversation with Polish agricultural media, Wojciechowski points out that the Green Deal and the new CAP have been definitively adopted by all EU countries and by a large majority of the European Parliament. According to him, the two strategies (farm-to-fork and biodiversity) are no more than a signpost, from which there is no reason to deviate.

This week, several political groups will urge Wojciechowski for more easing of agricultural policy. Last month it was already decided to open the European emergency fund to support European farmers, and the abandonment of four percent of agricultural land was postponed for a year. Many ministers and EU politicians think that is too little, but Wojciechowski disputes that.

In the monthly meeting of the Agriculture Commission (Wednesday and Thursday) in Brussels, the topicality of the Russian war in Ukraine is once again high on the agenda. The ministers of nine Eastern European countries already asked at the beginning of this month for the 'discontinuation' of the common agricultural policy, as it should take effect from next year (2023). 

That effective date is under pressure in eight of the 27 EU member states because there is still no agreement on their national strategic (agricultural) plan. As a result, Brussels cannot make a final judgment about it, and the payment of their agricultural subsidy is at risk, says Wojciechowski. How that will end is still unclear.

Ten former Polish agriculture ministers believe that there should be a European subsidy for collective purchasing of fertilizer, and call the 500 million euros of the emergency fund (for the entire EU) only a pittance. Ten times that is needed for a fertilizer fund, they believe.

The European Commission and most EU countries believe that the development of new 'natural' fertilizers should be pursued, such as the plan for natural fertilizers recently presented by the Netherlands.

Spanish Minister Planas believes that Wojciechowski should also ensure that no new environmental criteria are imposed on agriculture for the time being. He referred, among other things, to plans by Commissioners Timmermans (Climate) and Vincevicius (Environment) for a new 'land use tax' and for stricter emission standards for large livestock farms.

The AGRI Agricultural Commission also commemorates the sixtieth anniversary of the European common agricultural policy, which was initiated in 1957. The current treaty entered into force on April 20, 1962.

To celebrate the 60th anniversary, the European Commission has developed a special exhibition that was exhibited on 7 April during the ministerial meeting in Luxembourg. It outlines the history of the CAP from its origins to current policies, with testimonials from farmers across Europe and its goals for the future.